No Food Limits

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Books by K J Foxhall

Sea Shepherd UK

HELP PROTECT MARINE LIFE NOW!

I have been a supporter of SEA SHEPHERD UK for some time now - I swam 10K for them in March 2014, please help save our oceans and our future. This is not an over-exaggeration, please donate now if you can.

Admittedly, that was a long title, but it should tell you what the content of this blog refers to.

It has been a massively busy start to the year, in fact the word ‘busy’ is an understatement, but I am hoping that once all of the grunt work (so to speak), is out of the way, then it will all be worth it.

I’ll end this post with some frivolity, so you will need to wait to hear about Twerky and the Unicorn (sounds like an Icelandic pop band), unless you want to scroll down to the end but then you will miss everything in between.

No Food Limits

This is something I started last year and so far the direction is sound, it is the productivity that is lacking somewhat. The aim is to educate people to eat what they want without impacting on their health. It sounds like this has been done many times before – the over profiting organisations that in essence don’t work. If they did, they would be out of business by now. For me, I am not out to make lots of money, No Food Limits is all about the education. When you have seen people die, or have life impacting health problems, which could have been avoided if a change in eating plan had taken place, then getting rich is the last thing on your mind.

SwimFor

Since having Monster, I find that my training has reduced by quite a bit. I also made the comment on Twitter earlier on in the year that given my decades of swimming experience, why not start my own events that in the interim, only cater for me. I have organised many charity events with work in the past, I shouldn’t have too many issues trying to pull this off.

SwimFor allows me to raise money for my own charities and swim the distances I want to swim in the desired locations. No more jelly babies in the Solent for me (it takes away the salt taste for those that don’t know).

The second event is due to take place in April 2017 and is called Swimfor2k. It was originally #swimfor2 and then we realised that this sent a completely different message.

Swimfor2k is also a little misleading in the sense that the swim distance is not 2k, it is 4k overall (2k per charity), but the idea is that next year when is says #swimfor3k, it will be 3k per charity. Any charity can be picked, there won’t be a set charity per event, and the number of charities will not be limited. Providing the venue can cater the distance, the only requirements are to raise money for charity, swim the required distance and have a witness present to adjudicate. If you can take pictures even better but I am aware that many pools have a no photography rule.

I am hoping to open the event up next year to more people.

I can see Monster also getting into these as they get older. At present, I have limited Monster to swimming every other week as I am convinced that they are overdoing it. They get excited once they see the water and there is no stopping them. To the point where I have had to buy a float suit just to take the pressure off of my shoulders and back, but that is a different post entirely.

Dragon Realm Chronicles

I have been writing DRC for many years now and realised that I don’t have a website for the books to advertise them. Given that a few other authors have chosen to publish their books with similar names (naughty naughty), I thought it would be silly not to have the original series advertised under its very own domain, so now there is www.dragonrealmchronicles.com

The fourth book in the series is due out very soon.

Dragon Realm Chronicles – Book 3 in the series

Here’s Twerky

‎Without further ado, my husband and I have been having great fun with Monster’s Christmas presents. Isn’t that what you are supposed to do when you have kids?!!?

‎The BeatsBelle (aka Twerky) is one of the bestselling toys on the market. The idea is to play music and dance so it gets aspiring little walkers on their feet and moving. At first glance, it does look like a twerking anime k-pop character which displays different colours on its body that could no doubt, if sped up, induce neighbourhood wise seizures.

It also has a voice recording system which replays in a chipmunk voice‎ to a beat. This feature has given my husband endless fun and as a result, Twerky has been nominated as his organisation’s new mascot.

Monster looks at Twerky awkwardly, like it doesn’t understand, but then again it’s not like they get to spend much time with the toy.

The Unicorn however is surprisingly effective, given that it was one of those 90% off Groupon jobbies. It lights up the room with effects of flashing stars and ‘z’, or the lights can be still. It has a calming baby planetarium effect which actually works. You can opt to have sound, but wisely I brought the version that did not contain sound. It has helped Monster sleep every night so far. Result!

I have added LULU to my list of book distributors. The third instalment of The Dragon Realm Chronicles is now available for purchase.

Filled with dragons, black holes, digs at the legal industry, an out of body experience, the afterlife and martial arts – a random combination that makes more sense when you read the book. Please find below the description of this piece, and if you wish to buy a copy please visit the Lulu page.

The year is 2001. It has been 14 years since Stefan’s disappearance and his daughter Imogen is nearly 22 years old.

Embittered by her decision to follow in her parent’s footsteps into the legal world, she leaves the industry and goes to work as a martial arts instructor. At the same times she moves into her father’s old apartment.

Liberated by her new found freedom, old memories begin to surface as well as haunt her. She has not seen St Towers Estate since she was nine years old but nothing has changed, it is like time has stood still.

The long hours and lack of money soon make their impact on Imogen’s health and one day she passes out and falls into a deep coma.

At the same time the government announces that a team of scientists are about to practically test black hole theories on Earth.

Fearing that she may never wake up again, Imogen projects into a sleep world where she is able to see everything around her undetected. She learns of the pending disaster the world faces, history of her family’s charge, gains more insight about her father’s disappearance as well as long kept secrets, deception and vindictiveness of the people around her and she is introduced to a dragon or two along the way.

When it is all over she is left not knowing whether she will wake up, or stay in the dream world waiting for someone in reality to make the decision regarding her fate.

The third instalment to The Dragon Realm Chronicles is soon to be released. You can either purchase or obtain free copies of the first two books in this series by donating to my JustGiving page (www.justgiving.com/KellyFoxhall-AspireRelay) for the Channel swim and Aspire. In the meantime, please have a read of an excerpt from book 3:

THE DRAGON REALM CHRONICLES – THE BLACKHOLE WRATH

“Imogen walked over to one of the sinks and turned on the tap. She placed her hands under the flowing warm water while she looked at herself in the large mirrors opposite trying so desperately not to cry. It was her last day, there were only a few more hours to go and then she could go home and pack.

She looked down as she made a bowl shape with her hands under the running water and splashed her face. She then grabbed a few paper towels with her eyes still closed and dabbed the excess water from her face. However, when opening her eyes she was greeted with an unexpected and somewhat horrific sight. In reaction she screamed.

Imogen saw that the reflection in the mirror was no longer hers. It was the face of an older woman who had the same colour hair and similar features, but it was definitely not Imogen. As she screamed the lights above flickered and then went off for a few seconds leaving her in less than brighter surroundings.

The lights slowly resumed their previous luminosity.

“Shit, what the hell…?” She said out loud. The strange being in the mirror opposite her had vanished and as before she saw a more familiar person in the reflection. She threw the paper towels to one side and quickly walked out of the room.”

The third instalment to The Dragon Realm Chronicles is soon to be released. You can either purchase or obtain free copies of the first two books in this series by donating to my JustGiving page (www.justgiving.com/KellyFoxhall-AspireRelay) for the Channel swim and Aspire. In the meantime, please have a read of an excerpt from book 3:

THE DRAGON REALM CHRONICLES – THE BLACKHOLE WRATH

The year was 2023 and the atmosphere on Earth had changed dramatically. The parched plant life was now taking its last breathes before slowly withering away, back into the earth from whence it originally came.

Gravity (or lack thereof) was the cause. One day in 2003, without any warning, gravity just stopped. It was like it decided to leave the Earth. However it was not like the planet hadn’t given enough warning to its inhabitants, with its spontaneous volcanic eruptions, landslides in the most obscure places, tsunamis and tornadoes in the likes of Antarctica. The planet had become warmer for longer, there had not been a proper winter in two years before the changes began, and at the same time more sections of the oceans began to die due to over-fishing and construction developments. There was no air left for it to breath.

There could only be one answer, the Earth fighting back.

It was fighting against the human race, the overuse of resources, the degradation of the environment and the continuous reliance upon weaponry and mass destruction. The planet had fought back by cleansing itself of the vermin that had poisoned it for so long – the humans had killed themselves.

The life forms that hadn’t flown upwards to the void of space had learnt to evolve like their ancestral species, and clung on for as long as possible. However this was a devastation that the Earth and its inhabitants had not seen before, there was no historical references of what to do in such a situation. As time moved on, they small number of humans that survived has learned to adapt, by seeking shelter in buildings that were underground such as top secret military bases, that were no longer secret. The majority of life that managed to stay on the planet died from starvation or medical issues. It was difficult, as growing food in conditions with no natural light was not ideal. Many crops did not make it, and eventually some that were starving became dangerous.

It did not make any difference whether gravity was present for the time guardians or not, as they existed outside of time. This meant that they could roam freely around the planet to investigate.

Zephyr walked along some of the wasteland, he looked almost inconsolable at the sight of the decayed hills and fallen mountains. Rubble could be seen for thousands of miles, but the oceans that surrounded the rubble were somehow being revitalised. There was still some signs of plant life and small organisms growing around the damp earth near to where the waters were. Zephyr could not help but think the Earth was preparing to do a full cycle of evolution again.

“I don’t understand, this is not the way it was supposed to be,” said Zephyr.

“The humans had been warned several times,” said Olympia.

“I am going to take a closer look in the oceans,” said Zephyr.

He opened his concealed wings to their full extension and began to ascend upwards to fly to the nearest ocean. While the time guardians had a human look to them, they possessed all of the biological aspects of the dragon. It was easier to transport through time or to fly somewhere quickly. Dragons were directional protectors to look after humanity, they also had the ability to blend into their surroundings so as to avoid detection. The time guardians also had this.

Once high enough Zephyr headed west towards the Irish Sea. Once there he did not see any signs of life, until he flew further north. While combing the water beneath, he saw a fountain of water shoot up from the surface. As he neared this eruption, thinking it was another volcano, he saw several more appear from the water. He tucked in his limbs and wings and dived into the water like a rocket. As soon as his head broke through the surface, his skin changed to a colour blue which mimicked the water around him.

In the distance as he shot himself through the water to where the breaches had appeared, he saw a pod of blue whales swimming, completely unaffected it seemed by what had happened around them. Zephyr launched himself upwards through the water and took to flight again back towards his brothers to report the news.

I am aiming to get back into the weekly blog posts, though failing miserably and I can’t understand why. Work is in a reasonably good place, albeit a little quiet at the moment, training has been going well… except for my goggles that split this weekend and rendering me into using the emergency pair that indent my eyes and make me look like a plastered frog – but after a few set backs last year I think everything is well and truly back on track.

However, fate did decide to mock me again and throw a spanner in the works.

Keeping this story Feng shui and not over detailed before I lose you, I received a monetary amount recently which I thought covered the fundraising side of the swim. The fundraising I have always found to be the most difficult side of things, swimming is never normally the problem, but if you continue to take part in charity events per year you will inevitably tap the same people, and they will only donate so much. I personally cannot blame them for this. So when I received the money, I thought that was the stressful side over and done with I could get on with increasing my speeds and strength again.

Until I was taxed. Goodbye 40%, hello back to square one. It was like fate was waiving a pack of Ferrero Rocher in my face (my all time favourite) and then putting them in a bin and burning them in front of me.

Still never mind, back to the drawing board and on to the vulgarity.

Vulgarisms on Twitter

I unfortunately was subjected to some rather uncouth, boorish, nastiness on Twitter recently. I was going to dedicate a separate post to this but thought I couldn’t be bothered as it would just give those who were doing the abusing some limelight.

The story goes a little something like this; a few weeks ago Jeremy Clarkson had a bit of a ‘to-do’ with a producer on the Top Gear show resulting in Clarkson getting a bit fist happy – that actually sounds a bit strange. To clarity, from what we know, Clarkson punched a producer…. After he outed himself to the BBC powers that be, Clarkson was then suspended from work with his contract renewal waiving in the wind like a half cut down tree. At the same time the BBC decided to not air any of the remaining episodes of Top Gear, so the fans rushed to their Tweet decks to air their frustrations.

I was not necessarily on Twitter to join in the debate, just have a look at the controversial opinions. Of course we always get the “there are more important things in the world, why should this get the attention?” type Tweets, my response to these are that people can discuss more than one topic at once, others were happy that Clarkson finally could be getting his comeuppance, and everyone else who comments were just annoyed that the show could well and truly be over.

I perused the comments, not really taking a side, yes I am a massive Top Gear fan, but at the same time I am confident Clarkson (and if so choosing the other presenters) will fall back on another deal somewhere, at the same time it cannot be one rule for one and another rule for others under employments contracts, and even further why can’t we watch the remaining episodes in the meantime?

So what provoked me to comment – well on a particular thread that was aired on the BBC news channel (luckily with not my responses and those replying), I replied to one who basically said that ‘paedophiles watch Top Gear’, with the word ‘fact’ at the end of the post.

Firstly what relevance did this have to the discussion at hand, secondly how could this be fact unless this person had interviewed everyone who watched Top Gear to find this out? More importantly why would you insert such a taboo topic into this post when it is not really spoken about unless the media has found another to name and shame, perhaps the latest suspect under Project Yewtree. So I responded by saying how irrelevant the comment was and that it lacked substance. I was then told that I was crazy to be offended by the comment. I then replied with stating that by their comparison we who watch the show would all be, or associated with paedophiles, to which they replied that I chose to get offended and it was my problem.

I love that old chestnut.

I replied that they should take responsibility for the tone of their comments and the impact they have on others, and did my usual thing of being matter of fact and not brining emotion into my debates. This continued by a barrage of silly comebacks by the other person. I got to the point where I just did not answer back in the end, as I had better things to do, and only responded when this person stated that to be certain of the types of people that watch the show each and everyone should be rounded up, and interviewed by the police.

Yes I did respond to this. It was along the lines of ‘so you want our limited resources to interview everyone that watches a television show?’ To which they replied with a ‘yes’ starting with me. I then stated that this person should stop insulting people, and get into the real world, to which case I then was told that this person had not insulted or targeted anyone. Erm, yes they did.

This person in addition delivered worse abuse to another member that challenged them, resulting in some really vulgar remarks (obviously they couldn’t think of anything intelligent to say), and then I took the higher ground and just blocked them rather than continue with my debate, which I should have done in the first place.

I have since blocked others who have joined the debate to offer their unsubstantial remarks and insults towards me too.

While I don’t care what people say about me, it’s all sticks and stones after all, I am still amazed that people can be so blinkered with their comments on a public forum and then turn to vulgarity (which I have not included in this post, to spare everyone) when they cannot think of anything valid to say. They begin to lose and so start flinging insults, do they think they are immune to civil claims?

The moral of the story is, just let silly people comment and the will make themselves look… well silly. Keep out of it, go and debate with those who can bring valid comments to the table.

Sean’s swimming Britain

Sean Conway (Swimming Britain) – Hell and High Water book

Those that are in the know, know that Sean Conway (the dude that swam the length of Britain), is currently running the length of Britain. Hopefully this year he will complete it without any mishaps with his knee… or disaster selfies.

I will produce another post on this, but I have just finished Sean Conway’s book Hell and High Water, it is an amazing and an insightful read into the world of open water swimming, those trying to achieve a goal at all costs, and the excitement of adventure.

I recommend this highly as a read for anyone who has a challenging goal in the pipeline, even if they are not into swimming.

Duck Goose Discovery

Finally, the last snippet into the warped world of The Fox, we have recently moved and are now situated near one of the biggest parks in London. Within this park there is an iconic lake which plays host to a range of birds from swans, geese, pheasant, ducks and do on. Not to mention the lovely dogs and their owners I meet every morning when walking to the train station. I have since become quite familiar to them, as more and more dogs come up to me to bring me their ball or a stick, I then thank them and have to apologise as I need to get to the train station.

Upon one of my morning walks, I have come across a rather unique looking goose. It is the same size as the other geese, but it is all black with hint of green that one would see on a male duck. So I naturally thought that perhaps a goose and duck had become friendly and duck goose (as I call him) is the result.

I of course have been told since that it is absurd, but how do other species form if not through this process. I did some research and came across the following page: http://www.gobirding.eu/Photos/HybridDucks.php

It seems that this may not be a duck goose and perhaps a duck hybrid cross with a mallard. If you look on Google you will find many variations of duck geese, whether they have clearly adopted an infant or they have created their own strain of species, therefore my notion is not quite ridiculous now. However, I doubt I will be able to log my name down in the books as discovering a new species any time soon.

In other news, I will be releasing two new books soon. The long awaited part 3 to The Dragon Realm Chronicles and another novella regarding the trials and tribulations of swimming.